For my junior year math at GW Carver High School of Engineering and Science, we were required to purchase a graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments. It was called the TI-82. And we’d use that calculator for everything. One of the biggest scams ever pulled off by the Philadelphia School District (The whole buy-a-calculator thing was a complete and total scam, set up through some partnership between Texas Instruments and the Philadelphia School District, but that’s another story). My math teacher that year was a guy named Mr. Avi Barr, a balding immigrant with an accent. I don't know where Mr. Barr was from. But he often made a point in class that I’ve always remembered, and actually is the only thing I remember from Mr. Barr’s class. Mr. Barr would, while teaching class and working through a problem on the board, ask the collective a question. We would blankly look at Mr. Barr, then grab our $92 calculators and start punching in numbers, as if we knew how to work the solution (I certainly didn't -- in fact, I never learned to use even half the buttons and functions on that TI-82). Seeing this, Mr. Barr would grow frustrated sometimes and admonish the class. “People!! A calculator cannot teach you how to think!!” Properly shamed, we would all put our calculators down, and Mr. Barr would explain the reasoning behind working the math problem (which didn't require a calculator). Then he’d continued his planned lesson Inanimate objects, like the internet, cannot think for you. " Two things from this: One, My high school was called Engineering and Science. We, magnet school students hand-picked by E&S to attend the school, were so math-clueless that we tried using a graphing calculator to solve a math problem that didn't need one (LOL). This is a reflection of the ineptitude of the American educational system, more specifically the sham that is the Philadelphia School District. Two, Mr. Barr never went deeper on his point about calculators not being able to think for us, but I wish he had. Had I been the math teacher in that situation, I would've told everyone to put their books and calculators away. We would have a discussion about thinking, problem solving and empowering yourself to reach solutions. The students would have enjoyed it and looked forward to the next session of math class, which probably would have featured very little math. That being said, I probably would've gotten fired for non-complicnace with the program. Alas, I'm here blogging to you instead.  *** I don’t know what to do. I’ve looked, but I can’t find any. I've emailed a few people, but no one has replied to me. I tried this and it didn't work; I was hoping you could help me. Can you give me some links? I feel like I’m stuck. I’m a no-nonsense person. I don't laugh at jokes that aren't funny (if I like you, I'll force a "Corporate" smile). I don't like wasting time. And I have a strong aversion to hearing people make excuses and offering weak justifications for their own lack of self-determinism and personal initiative. Being a former pro basketball player, current athletes are the people I see it in the most (though this lack-of-initiative epidemic is certainly not limited to athletes, as you'll see). There’s the player who got cut from the team, but swears (s)he was better than everyone else in the gym (I hear from this class of player 3-4 times per week). The aspiring professional athlete who wants to make a career happen, but can’t find any information on how to try out for a team, contact an agent, or go to an exposure camp (I get this one daily). The player who’s on a team, but not playing as much as they'd like. The reason, of course, is the dumb coach who isn't good at recognizing talent when they see it. (2-3 times per week). If you've ever emailed, direct messaged or commented me, you know how I handle these: I throw your bullshit right back at you, letting you know that your excuses win you no sympathy here.   Some recipients get it and thank me for going it to them straight. Some say nothing; they either got the point or went searching for help elsewhere. Some reply by firing back at me to tell me how I’m wrong, their excuses are NOT excuses, why their excuse is a legitimate roadblock to their success -- and why I’m an asshole for not helping them out. I’m not mad at this third group. Actually, that third group (80%) and the first group (20%) are responsible for most of my content. Some of their questions, comments and complaints irk and move me to action, where I share what you need to know on video, podcast, book, or here in writing. I Could Be More Understanding. But It Wouldn't Help You I think I got this way from my mother. My mom is a really good point-counter-point conversationalist, who will drill her correctness into you, like it or not. Mom read Dre Philosophy Vol. 0 and complimented me on how it gave people the hard truths they needed to hear I sometimes have to check myself, though. Am I being too hard on people? Was it just easy for me to "make it"? Should I be more considerate of people’s individual challenges and complications on the road to doing what I've done? When pondering this, I think of my own Virtual Mentors. People for whom I’ve detailed why they’re mentors — 50 Cent, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, Damon Dash — and what these people are about. These guys all made their opportunities from nothing. They’re go-getters who didn’t wait around for someone to put them on. They put themselves on, and continue to do so while everyone else watches.   And that’s exactly what I did. Look up “play basketball overseas” and tell me who’s website you see most often in the results. I’m pointing that out to make a point: Who did I look up and ask questions to when I wanted to get on in pro ball? No one. There wasn't anyone. I am the one, because I went through the shit necessary for me to be able to talk about what I talk about now, in the way I talk about it. I am the one, because I went through the shit necessary for me to be able to talk about what I talk about now, in the way I talk about it. When I wanted to start my career in basketball, I went to any tryout I heard about, even for teams in leagues that didn't pay players. I spent money attending camps that resulted in zero career advancement for me. I played for teams who reneged on paying what they owed me. Because of those experiences, I can show people the way. Also because of those experiences, I accept no bullshit excuses from people. I’m not being too hard on people. I am on the right track. The problem, the reason why I sometimes question if I’m not as sensitive as I should be, is that there aren’t too many of these go-getter types out there "There aren’t too many of the go-getter type out there." Our world has become over-populated with weaklings, the people who use the above bitch ass phrases as calls for help I don’t know what to do. I’ve liked but I can’t find any. I've emailed a few people, but no one has replied to me. I tried this and it didn't work; I was hoping you could help me. Can you give me some links? I feel like I’m stuck. -- As if someone should feel sorry for or help them when they're unwilling to pay (in time, energy, focus or money) for said help. As I've said, some people actually grow upset and indignant when challenged to think for themselves, as if it’s a personal insult to not just hand them the answers. Smdh... you’re supposed to help people. Yeah, but I …….. (bullshit justifications for why they need to be told what to do), thanks anyway. Thanks for nothing. I AM serious and I DO want to ___________, I just don't know… can't find… don't understand… We are living in a world that is increasingly teeming with pussy weakling individuals "We are living in a world that is increasingly teeming with pussy weakling individuals." Who’s to blame: The internet, especially people like me. It's My Fault. Sorry. Let me explain. I was born in 1982. I was 18 in the year 2000 when people thought all our computers would crash or the world would implode. When I graduated Penn State Altoona in 2004, I had an old Hewlett-Packard desktop computer. A computer so slow, in fact, that if I wanted to go to, say,  ESPN.com, I’d type in the URL and take a nap -- and hopefully it would be up when I woke up. The Internet existed, but it was 5-6 years away from being THE INTERNET. Knowing that I wanted to play professional basketball, but coming from an NCAA D3 school (the third tier, talent-wise, of college sports), there was no one I could ask for help. No one in my family played ball. No one from Penn State Altoona had ever gone pro. The best players from my neighborhood were either street guys, or streetball/rec league players. They hadn't been anywhere or didn't know anyone who could assist me. The internet in 2004? The small bits of information about pro ball consisted of tryout and exposure camp announcements, with -- imagine this -- NO VIDEO. No footage from past events. No special message from the organizers. There weren't many photos either -- you didn't even know what people looked like. “YouTube” wasn’t a word yet. You took action on a wish and a prayer that what you signed up for was actually real and not some scam designed to separate you from your money. Whatever happened at said event happened, and no one would know about it unless they had either been there to see it, or obtained a copy of the VHS or DVD -- we didn't have camera phones, let alone video phones or streaming media then. Here’s the point where i could say, Back in my day, this current generation wouldn't have lasted… But I can't say that. Because me and the people from my day, along with this growing internet thing, changed everything. We -- me and the others who were pumping out what came to be knowns as “content” between 2000-2010 -- were doing things, living life. We started sharing our experiences, what we’d learned, and how you could use enjoy or learn from our experiences, for free online. In the form of blog posts, videos, audio recordings, email, etc, you could live life from your lap or the palm of your hand. The next generation subsequently had it easier: The “what” part of everything was readily available and very low-cost. In this time, before the explosion of online consumers, you could often reach out to well-known people and get direct, sincere responses from them. Name a known online entity whom I follow and I can tell you about a message exchange I had with that person between 2008-2013. In other words, shit was happening -- but not so much shit that you couldn't wrap your arms around it all. You did need the skill of knowing where and how to look for what you wanted, but once you looked in the right place, there it was! Between 2009-2015, everyone acquired a smartphone, laptop and maybe a tablet too. Twitter arrived, then Instagram. YouTube was already around; more and more people jumped in the pool or creating. If you weren't creating content online, you surely were consuming content online. Nowadays, the internet and the content that made/makes it what it is, have flipped the script: They’re consuming you. "We used to consume content online. Now, online content is consuming us. " *** When I had to do research projects in middle school (early 90s), my mother would send me to the Free Library of Philadelphia. There was a location on Wadsworth Avenue in Mt. Airy that had -- gasp -- COMPUTERS we could use. There was a volunteer staff of older kids who worked there and would help anyone do things on the computer. Every time I was there, one of those older kids would come over and ask what I needed help with. I would say I needed to do a term paper on George Washington, for example. The helper kid would reach to the keyboard and type in “Yahoo.” The Yahoo! home page opened, and the helper would type my query (in this case, “George Washington”) into the search bar, and their work would be done. By the second time I'd come there to use a computer, I cam to a realization: These older kids didn't know a damn thing other than how to access the web, and Yahoo was their crutch.  The internet, and by extension, our smartphones, have become to us what Yahoo was to the older kids helping me at the Free Library: a crutch that masks how little self-sufficiency we really have.  Your Digital Security Blanket We start and end our days on our smartphones. When we’re bored and have no one to talk to, we pick up our phones. When we feel uncomfortable and awkward, we instinctively reach for our phones as a source of security. And when we have a challenges, question or problem to deal with, our first move is to the internet and the experts we feel can solve our problems. I don't consider this first move to necessarily be a bad one. I mean, there are a lot of smart, knowledgeable and accessible people online who are happy to share with you. Some of them, you can even reach out to and get a response. Maybe they'll even answer your questions and/or tell you what to do or what they would do if they were you. The fact that you can get these answers and assistance online has done you a disservice. Like Mr. Barr admonished my high school class when we reached for our graphing calculators, you've forgotten how to think, expecting the internet to do it for you. And paradoxically, every time it does so successfully, you become that much more of a weakling. That's one more opportunity to look into yourself, wasted on the internet. What are you gonna do when the internet can't solve the problem?  [bctt tweet="What are you gonna do when the internet can't solve the problem? " username="DreAllDay"] *** Eliminating Your Weakness Remember the following three points.  Not knowing, being unable to find, and not understanding are unacceptable. I’m writing this in 2017; it will still be relevant and 1000% accurate in 2087. The world we’re in is chock full of information, how-to, and explanation. Too much information, actually. When my lady and I moved into our condominium, we had to figure out how to start the  European-made dishwasher. I found the model number of the machine, googled it, and found the PDF manual online. I combed through it to section on controls and got it working properly. The same with the refrigerator to adjust temperature and get it making ice. The controls for both were not intuitive to my american-made instincts, but I knew the instructions could be found. Many people these days would instead be washing dishes by hand and buying ice from the gas station. Information is everywhere. Most of it has been created by other people, people who have done the work of living it, breaking down and sharing it with you. The heavy lifting has been done. All you have to do is apply it accordingly. That's the (relatively) easy part.  If there's something you want to achieve in life, it's your job to figure out how to do it and how to apply the action steps you find. It's your job to find the information, and to keep looking when you haven't yet found it. When it comes to your goals, "I don't know" is not an acceptable response.  "It's YOUR JOB to find, interpret and apply information on reaching your goals. " 2.  Nobody gives a fuck about your problems. I openly solicit Instagram DMs and private snaps, asking people to tell me about any current challenges they feel I could help with. And I do help them -- sometimes by sharing my links to my Podcast, other times a book I’ve published, and often by answering their question with a question of my own (example: you “have no idea what to do” -- so if I don't answer, what are you gonna do? Nothing?). Why I do this? One reason, as I stated above, is that a majority of my content comes from such interactions. And it will continue to (Content Creators strapped for ideas: Offer people a forum to share their problems and excuses, and they will come in droves. You will NEVER run out). Other reasons:  A) sell my products B) get people subscribed to my offerings such as the Work On Your Game Podcast and email list and C) find ideas for my next post, podcast, livestream, or video. I do it for you, to do it for ME. I think the phrase here is “selfish altruism;” if that’s not a saying, then I just created it. In reading the incoming messages, I notice something. People really like telling you about their problems and all the circumstances surrounding them that makes things worse. Many people have this twisted, preschool-taught idea stuck in their heads that if you tell people how bad it is for you, or all the reasons life is conspiring against you, people will be inclined to help you climb from the hole you're stuck in. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. Do you like hanging with unlucky people? Do you spend time with people who always find a way to lose, no matter how much things are set up for them to win? Which do you prefer: the friend who always has some fun, positive things to say or the friend who always has a new catastrophe falling on their heads? Exactly. We are into ourselves much more than we’re into anyone else. We gravitate to the energy we want for ourselves. This is why leaders get followed, the confident have disciples, and why attractive (in any way) people have fans. We are drawn to what and who we aspire to be. Your bitching and complaining and expectancy of help -- even if only in your mind -- are repelling people away from you. People don't want to hear about your problems; the fact is they don't care. If there's a questions someone can answer, ask it -- save the sob story. It isn't earning you help. 3. The internet won't do it for you. I LOVE the internet, the World Wide Web, and whatever other ways you can describe this space of interconnectivity that allowed me to become a pro athlete, start a business, build a fan base, pay my bills, meet a lot of pretty females, and live how I want to live. I want you to notice my wording: The internet allowed me to do these things, it didn't do it for me. "The internet allows me to do great things -- it doesn't do them for me." I made those phone calls. I swiped left (or right? I don't remember) on Tinder. I composed those emails. I  shot, edited, and published those videos. I created and offered those products for sale. The internet was used as a tool, a middleman, for me to get what I wanted. Never once did I look at the internet -- or the people on the internet -- and hope they did something for me. Only fools make this mistake. The same way a car allows you to drive fast, but you still have to press the gas pedal, the internet is a blank canvas that wants to be painted on. But paint, you must. *** Using the Internet How It Needs To Be Used During the journey we commonly forget its goal. Almost every profession is chosen as a means to an end but continued as an end in itself. Forgetting our objectives is the most frequent act of stupidity. - Friedrich Nietzsche In conclusion, remember what the internet is: a tool. A tool that wants to be used as a bridge between where and who you are, and where and who you want to be. Too many of us have come to see the internet, and the people and content that comprise it, as the end itself rather than the means to an end that it should be. Let’s get clear on what the internet can do, and what it doesn't do. It will provide information, but it won't teach you how to think. It will show you that it can be done, but it won't do it on your behalf. It can show you how to possibly handle things, but it isn't the answer to all your problems. It will represent the opportunity for connection with others, but it won't speak for you. It will cost you if you spend too much time there, but it won't pay you back without action The first place to look when you have a challenges is at yourself. What led to this situation, and how was I responsible? What can I do now, given the current circumstance? What’s my first step? The internet (and the people there) comes in only after you've answered the above questions. Don't be boxed in by the information, or the information-having people you’re pining to get to. If information was all you needed, you would have your desired outcomes already. And so would everyone else, who have the same internet access you have. The internet is and will always be as useful or as useless as the person using it is self-sufficient. ]The internet is and will always be as useful or as useless as the person using it is self-sufficient. Before the next time you reach for that phone or keyboard, check yourself for the answers, ideas and inspiration that may already exist within.